When cities fail

Labor Day weekend seems a fitting time to revisit, at least in the virtual world, Bridgeport’s Pleasure Beach, once a haven for that city’s working class that also attracted tourists (to Bridgeport! – in 1938, 30,000 visitors showed up on one day. Glen Miller performed there. Rides! Amusements!). That all passed long ago as Bridgeport became nothing but a sprawling crack den, but there were still summer cottages on the island, built on land from the city. In 1997, the bridge t Pleasure Island burned down (it was ready to go because, when the state offered to rebuild the decaying structure some years before, the city’s governors were too lazy to fill out an application accepting the project). The summer renters stayed on, either walking or taking boat out to their shacks, until Bridgeport decided they had to go too. It took a court fight, but eventually the renters were evicted.

Today, nothing’s left. The houses and their occupants are gone, the city has essentially abandoned all hope of coming up with funds to build a new bridge and the beach has reverted to birds and the sea. Environmentalists will cheer that development but then again, they’re the same folks who cheered the best seller, “The World Without Us”. I’m on the side of humans, and I think the story of Pleasure Beach offers a frightening glimpse into our future as civilization crumbles.

Hartford at work

When I mentioned yesterday that our legislature had tripled the new salt water fishing fee, imposed for the first time just this past June, from $10 to $30 (and $60 for that visiting grandchild), I wondered what other mischief they’d gotten into. It’s early days and we’re bound to find dozens of new increases, but here are two: freshwater fishing license, $20 to $40, with all proceeds going to the general slush fund. And remember those “Save the Sound” license plates you buy, at a premium, and have the money go into a special fund? They’ve grabbed it and dumped that into the slush fund too. I don’t have too much sympathy for anyone dumb enough to voluntarily give money to politicians who promise to spend it carefully, but this last act does smack of fraud, no?

Not content to rest their culinary fame on poutine

Canadians introduce ketchup cake. Sounds good, eh?

Another friend of Bernie’s?

Sitting pretty, then

Former Palm Beach real estate big wig Thanos Papalexis (is it mean to point out that he held a fund raiser for Hillary?) found guilty of murder in London. A Greek wannabe real estate magnate, his deals were going sour and a tenant who refused to leave was screwing up financial salvation, so thugs were called, the tenant tied to a chair and beaten to death. Nothing to do with Greenwich real estate but, until we learn otherwise from tomorrow’s police blotter, nothing similar is going on in town right now. Go with what you’ve got.

He’s like, you know, not you know running, you know?

Joseph Kennedy stays out of Uncle Teddy race. “It was a tough decision,” he says, “cause, you know, this is Massachusetts, I’m a Kennedy and I haven’t been caught with a live boy or a dead girl in bed – not yet, anyway. But certain spoilsports out there are itching for a fight, saying that a drug addicted alcoholic with a history of serial infidelity and giving blow jobs to Hugo Chavez might be vulnerable in these mean times. I don’t believe that for a minute but I was thinking, why do I want to be a senator? I’ve already got all the booze, women blow and money I can use, so what’s the point? Let someone else have his chance at the trough. That’s how Kennedys were raised.”

Obama’s socialist agenda: he wants to bore our kids to death!

The White House has released the text of the President’s upcoming speech to the nation’s school children and, while he’s cleverly hidden the subliminal message that kids should rat out their parents to the thought police, leave home and go to work repairing tractors on the nearest collective farm, he can’t hide the dull material he’s going to deliver. No worse than any other modern politician’s speech and we can’t blame the guy for being no Hal on St. Crispin’s Eve, but is there any reason why Greenwich students should waste their time listening to this pablum? Hey, it’s on line; assign it as reading homework and the little darlings will be done with it in 2-3 minutes, instead of wasting an hour in some assembly hall. The time they save can be devoted to that fluoride swish and spit program Hartford likes so much.

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

Yawn.

UPDATE: You wanna motivate kids, Mr. President? How about this? Japanese gangsters now have to take written examinations before being allowed out on the street. I mean, the world is just getting so frigging complicated!

Useful idiots

Oliver Stone’s pean to Hugo Chavez is a huge hit in Venice, as is the strongman himself.

And of course, they adore Michael Moore.

And just as Stalin repaid his useful idiots in the west, Chavez continues to shut down freedom in his country, all to wild applause of Hollywood and the communists of Europe. Yesterday, Chavez announced he’s closing another two dozen radio stations, half way now towards his target of 100.

Nothing much to do about Europe – I think it was doomed by World War I, but I stopped sending Hollywood money several years ago and will continue that one-man boycott for the foreseeable future. I refuse to sell them the rope they’ll use to hang me, let alone buy it for them.

Celebrities at Starbucks

 

 No real estate happenings today so I wandered over to Starbucks on the Avenue with Scusie to see who was there. Lots of very, very important people, according to Miss Scusie, as seen below – all identification is hers, as I wouldn’t know a celebrity if she jabbed me in the back with her Prada.                      

Ben Afflack

 

(clockwise from left) Derek Jeter, Pope Paul II, Whiney Houston,George Hamilton,Beck, Cdy Gifford

Judge Judy and Britany Spears

Ron Howard

 

GPD Chief david Ridberg

Jesus H. Christ

Britain plays catch and release with terrorists

Forced to disclose intelligence or let terrorist suspect under home arrest free, Britain sets the man loose to get back to his work.

Of 25 terrorists arrested for the Al Qaeda plot to blow up airliners, 3 convicted, the rest escape justice.

But all is not lost. Taking a page from the American Liberal, a species that sees terrorism as solely a legal matter, the British Home Office has reversed course and will now assist victims of IRA terrorism to assert claims against Libya for providing the semtex and automatic weapons used to inflict that terror.

That’s right, when a group is out to destroy you, get a good lawyer and sue the blackguards. That’ll learn ’em.

Aiming to be first on the Guvernator’s prisoner release plan

LA gunman who attacked Jewish center now say he’s sorry. Well, alright then.